Apple apologizes for lack of clarity on iPhone slowdowns — and will sell $29 replacement batteries

A bruised Apple issued a letter of apology to customers on Thursday, a week after the tech giant had to admit that it wasn’t entirely upfront about how it deals with iPhones which have older batteries.

Apple didn’t dispute the fact that it intentionally manages performance on older models — a tweak announced with iOS 10.2.1 to fix unexpected shutdowns in iPhone 6 — but the company clearly mismanaged the communication of such efforts to consumers.

“We’ve been hearing feedback from our customers about the way we handle performance for iPhones with older batteries and how we have communicated that process,” Apple wrote on its website. “We know that some of you feel Apple has let you down. We apologize. There’s been a lot of misunderstanding about this issue, so we would like to clarify and let you know about some changes we’re making.

“First and foremost, we have never — and would never — do anything to intentionally shorten the life of any Apple product, or degrade the user experience to drive customer upgrades. Our goal has always been to create products that our customers love, and making iPhones last as long as possible is an important part of that.”

Whether or not you believe Apple’s intention was to improve performance and not just drive you to go buy a new iPhone, fixing the problem will cost you more money.

Apple said that to “address our customers’ concerns, to recognize their loyalty and to regain the trust of anyone who may have doubted Apple’s intentions” they’re taking a few steps, the first being cutting $50 off out-of-warranty iPhone battery replacements. Users will be able to get a new battery for $29 throughout 2018.

An iOS software update early in the new year will also address the transparency that was lacking in this saga, as features will provide users “more visibility into the health of their iPhone’s battery, so they can see for themselves if its condition is affecting performance.”

For more on battery life and performance, Apple also published a new Knowledge Base article here.

Writer and editor Kurt Schlosser covers the Geek Life beat for GeekWire. A longtime journalist, photographer and designer, he has worked previously for NBC News, msnbc.com and the Seattle P-I. Follow Kurt on Twitter or reach him at kurt@geekwire.com.